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Tom Cruise stars in this spectacular version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. Thought safely entombed deep beneath the desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her, is awakened in our current day. Her malevolence has grown over millennia and with it come terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sands of the Middle East through modern-day London, The Mummy balances wonder, thrills, and imagination.|Alex Kurtzman directs this big budget reboot of the supernatural action adventure series starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella. After discovering the tomb of ancient Egyptian princess Ahmanet (Boutella), soldier Nick Morton (Cruise) teams up with archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) to retrieve the sarcophagus and transport it back to Britain. Now released from her ancient prison, Ahmanet unleashes terror on the city of London as she attempts to fulfil the destiny that was once taken from her. Meanwhile, after being informed by Dr Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe) that he has been chosen as part of Ahmanet's plan for world domination, Nick faces a race against time to find a way to stop her before it's too late.

Since every movie franchise now has to be a cinematic universe, Universal is digging up all their old movie monsters and flinging them into new, flashier films.

And the first of those is "The Mummy," a remake/reboot-but-not-really of the previous films about an undead horror rising from the tomb... except they pretty much abandon any actual material from those movies except "there's a mummy, and a giant screamy face." Instead, they present a mass of cinematic and/or mummy cliches without a hint of irony, dressing it up with a "sexy" mummy and a crammed-in starting point for the Dark Universe.

During an airstrike, soldier-of-fortune/looter Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) accidentally uncovers an Egyptian tomb buried under a town... in Iraq. Even the movie is aware of how strange that is. They just happen to have an archaeologist (Annabelle Wallis) on hand, who discovers this was the tomb of Ahmanet, an Egyptian princess whose lust for power caused her to sell her soul to Set, murder her family, and be mummified alive for her crimes. Never mind that the process of mummification would kill you.

But things immediately start going wrong -- the plane carrying her sarcophagus crashes, Nick temporarily dies, and then he is haunted by visions of a bandaged woman stalking him through the mist. He's been cursed by her, and she wants to use him as the vessel for Set. And even when Ahmonet is captured by a Super-Sekrit Organization (like S.H.I.E.L.D. but less competent), Nick finds that he may have no hope of escaping her grasp.

"The Mummy" is very much a MOAR action movie. Moar mummies. Moar crashes. Moar fistfights. Moar 'splosions. Moar attractive women. Moar boogity-boo scares. Moar moar moar. This movie feels almost like a parody of a Hollywood action-horror movie, ticking off all the cliches and never bothering to do anything that we haven't seen before... but without a sense of humor or self-awareness that everything in its story has been done before.

Instead, we're pelted with so many cliches that it feels like the studio raided TV Tropes. And as a result, its massive, bombastic nature seems like a storm conjured up to try to hide the fact that the plot is as thin as papyrus -- and it's definitely not scary, or as funny as it thinks it is (haha, Nick is naked!). There are a few spooky moments here and there, mostly when we see Ahmanet scuttling around in her undead state, looking like an arthritic Gollum. But more often we just careen from place to place, following Nick and Boring Blonde as they lurch from one crisis to another, building up zero momentum as they go.

And as if to show the lack of care that went into it, there are also blatant fails at Egyptian mythology (Set as the god of death), ancient Egyptian culture, etymology (Jekyll claims "Satan" is an alternate name for Set) and history (what would the Crusaders have been doing in what is now Iraq? Being horribly lost?).

Tom Cruise is... Tom Cruise. Despite playing a looter, liar and thief, we're clearly meant to be charmed by his roguish one-liners and occasional moments of not-totally-self-centered-ness. But when you boil him down, there isn't really anything about the character to like or be interested in, which makes Wallis' Boring Blonde's transition from contempt to love seem even more ridiculously artificial. And Russell Crowe plays a woefully unimposing Dr. Jekyll, who predictably transitions into a ludicrously unscary, scenery-chewing Mr. Hyde.

Sofia Boutella does an excellent job with what little material she has; she seems to have been hired mostly because she can scuttle, scamper and bend a lot. Unfortunately, she's simply not frightening here -- her version of a mummy is too wriggly, weak and ALIVE to ever be a properly undead fright. She looks and acts more like a gymnast in a mummy-themed unitard.

"The Mummy" has a few good spots that haven't been totally dried out, but the withered hulk is just a standard Hollywood blockbuster -- lots of sound and fury, signifying that the Dark Universe may be dead on arrival.

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MegsJedi

3.0 out of 5 starsGet your gods straight!

4 September 2017 - Published on Amazon.com

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Sofia Boutella was robbed of a genuine chance to shine in this movie. Her Star Trek Beyond character had more depth and life. But, many of us are armchair archeologists and know the traditional names, Amaunet is as good a name as any. Honestly, flipping the story of the last set of Mummy movies from Imotep to Amaunet made Tom Cruise look like the damsel in distress, which is amusing. Paying attention will keep confusion at bay. This could have been better, but it truly could have been worse. The cinematography and some stunning visuals make this flick worth watching.

In case you don't know, the Egyptian god of the dead wasn't Set, it was Anubis. Set was the god of chaos. Switching that up made no sense, any the good guys... The Medjai they ain't.

People are so spoiled and techno-wise about how movies should be made and played. Just enjoy the films for what they are. There was nothing wrong with this film. I enjoyed excitement, (which wasn't over the top) and the absence of a profanity riddled script. Maybe the problem for some people is trying to see Cruise as someone other than Ethan Hunt. There have been mummy movies since Bella Lugosi days and a lot of them not so hot but to me this is a better adaptation thanks to the special effects and the seasoned actors. Don't let the couch critics be kill-joys and just enjoy a nice flick. Every movie is not an Oscar potential or bust occasion.

As a fan of the 1932 and 1999 versions of 'The Mummy', I watched this to see if it might have improved on the Brendan Fraser franchise. In short: NOPE.

Production values were very good (1 star) and Sofia Boutella is a personal fave (1 star), but while branded as the kick-off for Universal's 'Dark Universe' series, there wasn't anything particularly dark about it (no stars). And watching Tom Cruise phone in a twit character for 110 minutes did not make for riveting cinema. (Certainly made me wonder how much emotional 'method' Tom had to dig for to achieve oneness with his character.)

Of course, a lot of it had to do with the script. Or lack thereof. Most of the 'crackling' dialogue comes across as 'almost' good jokes; the kind that might have been amusing if the writers had thought to include the punchlines. The writers really should have watched the Brendan Fraser movies for a refresher in snappy repartee (or even 'Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy').

Lastly, rehashing the same old Mummy story line is getting boring. Why not recognize it as something that no one else has: As a love story that spans millennia? [Spoiler alert] Consider, Nick Morton didn't get the girl in this movie. He wound up in the desert with his sidekick. Why not have Nick (as Nick/Set) recognize his timeless love for Ahmanet and wander off into the desert to create their own private Hamunaptra? We don't need world domination, but maybe just a little love, romance, and redemption. How about that for a refreshing change, huh Hollywood? [/Spoiler alert]

Overall, I should have waited until this went Prime. Or better yet, just skipped it and rewatched the 1999 version (although I did prefer Sofia Boutella's mugging the sandstorm to Arnold Vosloo's). Not recommended.

I've always enjoyed Tom Cruise, and i loved the Mummy series starring Brendan Fraser (excluding the Dragon Emperor one). But the only thing that Fraser's Mummy and Cruise's Mummy share, is the title. I enjoyed both The Mummy/2 and Tom Cruise's The Mummy, for very different reasons, Partly for the fact that it has Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Annabelle Wallace (who i find drop dead gorgeous, .....besides the point) stare in this film, but mostly it's because of the darker tone they add to this film. The only gripe i have with the movie is that the ending was very bland. But, it leaves room for a chance at a sequel!

I don't necessarily care about what some big shot head of lettuce reviewer thinks about this movie, I guessed the plot about 30 minutes in but my brain was already shutting down and going into enjoyment-mode, if you want to enjoy this movie like I did, i suggest you do the same. :)

I have a message for the creators of this movie ( I use the term loosely) and also to the ones who seem to love this thing. This was not a Mummy movie which I wanted, I loved the lady Mummy, she was terrific, My problem with this was it became a Tom Cruise movie not a Mummy Movie. It came across to me as Mission Impossible in the desert. I really think that they should not have put a "name" actor in this part or in any of the future "dark universe" movies, if there will be any. They should have gone for no-name casts and made the "monsters" the stars of this movie and not Cruise.